Guatemalan forces arrive to tackle gang violence

A group of 150 Guatemalan soldiers have arrived in Haiti, given the task of helping to restore order in the midst of the riots caused by bandits.

The first group of 75 soldiers arrived on Friday and another 75 on Saturday, all recruited by the military police, according to the Guatemalan government.

An emergency situation has occurred across the Caribbean for several months as the government battles violent insurgents who have taken control of much of the capital Port-au-Prince.

The military is in Haiti to strengthen the United Nations security team with the support of Kenya, which has so far failed to prevent the violence from escalating.

Kenya sent about 400 police officers in June and July last year to help combat terrorism.

This was the first phase of an international military force approved by the UN which will consist of 2,500 officers from different countries.

A small number of soldiers from Jamaica, Belize and El Salvador are also in Haiti as part of the mission and the US is the main donor of the mission.

In March 2024, armed insurgents broke into two of Haiti’s largest prisonsfreeing about 3,700 prisoners.

The Ouest department – the region including Port-au-Prince – was put under threat on March 3, later. Increasing violence gripped the capital.

Chronic instability, authoritarian regimes and natural disasters in recent decades have made Haiti the poorest country in the Americas.

In 2021, President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated and unknown criminals in Port-au-Prince.

Since then the country has been plagued by economic turmoil, political instability and increasingly violent wars.